The Ward
by MnMsRoK
Summary: A teenage girl has become Tony DiNozzo's ward. What will happen on this journey of pain, sorrow, and happiness? Rated T for: Cutting, Language, and possibly gore. Tony/OC/Gibbs FATHERLY Characters OOC!
1. Making Acquaintances

Ch. 1

"So, I heard Tony's getting a ward," stated Agent Timothy McGee, a thirty-four year old man with light brown short hair, mint green eyes, and a nice build.

"You heard too?" asked a twenty-nine year old brown haired Israeli with dark brown eyes. Her name is Ziva David.

"Yes, I did. Never knew Tony would do something like this. You know, get a kid."

"I heard she wasn't really a kid," commented a greying Gibbs with bright but hard blue grey eyes.

"It's a girl? Hopefully she is young and cute like the little sister I've always wanted," added Ziva.

"Boss, what did you mean by, "wasn't really a kid"?" asked a questioning McGee.

"Just by that, you know older then twelve?" Gibbs said while trying to clear things up for Tim to comprehend.

The three of them heard the ping of the elevator and decided to go back to work, then ask Tony about the girl.

"Good morning everyone, I would like to introduce you to my ward, Sarah DiNozzo," a thirty-four year old brown haired, blue eyed Tony said with a wave of his hand to the girl standing next to him.

The girl was about five-foot-eight, with long black hair, and piercing golden brown eyes. Her bust was quite… vulumptuous for someone so skinny. She had on short shorts, white graffiti high tops, a tight black short sleeved shirt with a black, red, white, and green vest, and silly bands around her wrists.

"Hey," was all the girl said.

"Hello, I'm Ziva David, it's very nice to meet you," Ziva went up to the girl to shake her hand but the girl bowed before Ziva had the chance to put her hand out.

"How shall I call you?" Sarah asked Ziva with a very serious look on her face.

"Ziva is fine." Ziva bowed towards the girl and then went back to work.

"I'm Timothy McGee, you can call me Tim," said McGee after bowing.

"Nice to meet you Tim," the girl bowed back to him.

"My name is Leroy Gibbs, call me Boss or Gibbs," said the strict man bowing.

"Very nice to meet you Gibbs," Sarah said bowing towards the man. "You must be Tony's boss."

"I am, what all did DiNozzo tell you?"

"You were the Boss, Ziva's the kick ass Mossad/NCIS agent, and Tim's a nerd."

"Hey!" shouted Tim to Tony.

"That's all he told me."

"Ok," was all Gibbs said after that. He heard his office phone ring and then he answered it with a stern, "Hello?"

"Tony, I have to use the restroom," Sarah stated.

Tony sighed then asked, "Ziva, can you please show her where the can is?"

"Why me?" asked a frustrated Ziva.

"Me and McGoogle are both guys, which would be awkward."

"Ziva sighed long and hard, but before she could reply Gibbs said, "That's got to wait for now, Marine dead at the southeast beach."

Sarah sighed also then stated, "I can hold it."

After riding in silence for once, they arrived at the beach in which the dead Marine was laying.

"That's gross," Sarah bluntly said.

"Well, if it disgusts you to no end you can go back to the car," Tony said.

"It's not that repulsive, just that the water made his skin squishy, but it also looks like he was in a fight before he was in the water. It also looks like he was touched by acid on his forearm during the fight. It was a pretty rough one if you ask me."

The group stared at her in amazement. Ducky said after recovering, "Where did you learn how to make accusations like that?"

"I have a knack for seeing the odd things immediately, but also I watch TV," she replied with a shrug.

"Well, when you decide on what you want to do when you think the time is right, apply here miss…?"

"Sarah DiNozzo," she said bowing to her elder.

"Are you Tony's long lost sister?" Ducky asked confused.

"No, I'm his ward," she replied truthfully, smiling a little for the first time.

"Oh! I thought you were at least twenty-three. I apologize. My name is Ducky and this is my partner, Palmer," he said while bowing back to the girl, trying to not be disrespectful.

"Where did you grow up, Miss DiNozzo?" asked Palmer bowing also.

"I grew up in St. Louis Missouri."

"Oh, when did you pick up bowing instead of shaking hands?" asked Ziva.

"Well I-" Sarah started but was interrupted by Gibbs.

"Guys, back to work!"

"Yes sir!" the team shouted and went straight back to work.

Sarah went back to the car and stayed there until she had an idea. "I need to find something sharp. I NEED IT!" she thought. While looking under the front driver's seat, she found a knife. "Finally," she sighed with relief and looked it over with interest. "I've never used one of these knifes before." She touched the tip of the knife and felt a splotch of blood form underneath the tip of the knife. "Oh dear me, this is sharper than I thought. I gotta be careful while using it." She slid the knife over her wrist, being careful not to cut to deep, and she made sure not to go above the silly bands she wore. It stung at first, but that was a familiar feeling she had from past experiences. She felt her stress, her pain, her insanity melt away. Sarah saw some napkins, from what she thought were from fast food restaurants, and she picked to help stop the bleeding, but not before licking her wounds, tasting the blood. "I really need to stop this madness, but how can I when it helps me think straighter." She sighed and put the napkins on the cuts she made.

She made sure that the knife was cleaned as best as she could get it and made sure her wrists stopped bleeding because she wouldn't know what would happen if Tony found out what she did. She liked Tony, unlike her parents, who thought yelling at her would make her stop harming herself. Before she met Tony, she was a complete mess, and that was five months ago, but he didn't know that. Sarah didn't even recognize herself after she was done dyeing her hair black. It was rather strange.

"Sarah! We're back!" shouted Tony to the lonesome girl in the car.

"Shit," she muttered under her breath trying to pull up her silly bands as fast she could without opening her fresh cuts.

"Hey there," said Ziva sliding in next to Sarah and McGee on the other side of her.

"Hi, find any clues?" Sarah asked the group nervously.

"We found a couple." Tony looked back at the girl from the front seat. "Are you OK? You seem… Nervous."

"Why would you think that? I'm perfectly fine." She laughed a little and then fell silent.

Tony narrowed his eyes at his ward, worried about her. His phone buzzed signaling he received a text message. It was from McGee.

The text read, "Maybe she has abnormal mode swings?"

Tony sighed and replied, "Hopefully that's all she has." A few seconds later McGee's phone buzzed.

"Can you please not text each other in the car. That's rude. Gibbs, can you please turn on the radio to anything but country. Please," she added.

"Why not, unless anybody has any questions for you," asked Gibbs.

"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings from this, but why did you become a ward?" asked Ziva curiosity sparkling in her eyes.

"It doesn't bother me. My parents couldn't handle me anymore; you know how teenagers are sometimes, right guys? They also had two other children. So, they decided to get rid of the oldest and keep the younger two. I really didn't care because I couldn't handle them either," The young girl replied.

"Well, that's all I have," stated the Israeli girl.

After the question was answered Gibbs turned on the radio and "Last Name" by Carrie Underwood came on and Gibbs was about to change it when the young girl shouted, "NO!" and Tony practically had a heart attack, but Gibbs remained calm and let it stay there.

After arriving back at NCIS, Sarah practically jumped out of the car, jumping over Ziva in the process, dragged her to the elevator, and was silently whispering "Gotta go," over and over again.

After Tim and Tony broke out of their shocked gazes, they unloaded the car full of evidence (A/N: it was only two small bags, nothing big.)

"It's almost noon. Boss, do you mind if I go to McDonalds to go pick everyone up some food?" asked Tony.

Gibbs sighed then waved DiNozzo off, "Get me a black coffee, a medium fry, and a double cheese burger."

"Same! Minus the coffee, and instead make it a coke," shouts McGee while getting into the elevator to go to the "mad scientists" lab.

"Yeah, yeah. You owe me McGussler."

"Just go Tony," Gibbs pushed him back into the car and threw the keys in with Tony.

Tony texts Ziva and asks her and Sarah what they would like.

Tony's phone buzzed while he was at a stoplight when the light just turned red. He read, "I would like a salad without the meat, and an iced tea. Sarah says all she wants is a medium fry and water."

Tony sighs and thinks to himself, "She hasn't been eating a lot. I hope she isn't anorexic." Tony sighed and turned into McDonalds drive thru.

When Tony walked out of the elevator, he was tackled by Sarah who shouted, "Gimme gimme gimme!" She grabbed a box of fries and started devouring the poor fries.

"W-wow," said Tim astonished. "She must really be hungry if she is devouring those French fries."

"Oh my gosh! I haven't had these fries in forever! They are so delicious!" cried Sarah.

"Or that could be why she is mutilating them," Ziva added her two cents.

"Hey Gibbs!" Abby said as she was walking through the squad room. She had short black hair with bangs in pigtails; she has dark brown eyes, and was just about six feet tall. "Who might you be?" she asked cautiously.

"I'm Sarah DiNozzo," replied the smaller girl after swallowing a hand full of fries. She bowed to the woman opposite of her and said, "Nice to meet you…?"

"Abby," replied the pale woman. "It's nice to meet you also. Wait a second! Are you Tony's ward?"

Sarah nodded at this then replied, "Yes, I am." She smiled slightly at the older being before her.

"So how is Tony treating you?" Abby asked with a bright smile, taking Sarah by her shoulders and walking Sarah towards her lab.

"Oh, Abby? Did you need to tell me something?" inquired Gibbs.

"Oh! Yes! The sample skin Ducky sent me had traces of acid in it. Guess which kind?" Gibbs gave Abby a look so she goes right on saying, "Pure acid."

"Isn't that very dangerous?" asked Sarah with a sort of terrified look in her eyes.

"Yes, very much so. I can't believe this poor man's arm didn't get burned right through to the bone."

"McGee, find out if the acid was purchased by anyone on base for the past five days, and Ziva find out if there was a disturbance report at a factory where they have acids lying around," Gibbs ordered out heading towards the Directors office.

"Gibbs, another thing!" Gibbs turned around to see what Abby had to say. "The John Doe's name is Frank Sanchelski."

"Thanks Abs. Tony, find out more about our dead man."

"Tony," started Sarah, "what should I do know since you're working?"

"Well, you can go get something to eat from the vending machines, or you can go hang out with Abby," replied Tony not taking a single look away from his work.

"Can't I do both?"

Tony sighed and grabbed his wallet from his inside coat pocket and gave the girl two dollars. "If you can find Abby's lab on your own, you can stay, but if you cannot find her lab within ten minutes after getting your snack then come straight back here. Do you got it?" he asked looking straight into her eyes while handing Sarah her water.

"Yes! Thanks Tony!" Off Sarah went with a skip in her step.

Tony shook his head and went back to researching about the dead marine. Ziva interrupted his thoughts by saying, "Is that suck a good idea to let her wonder the halls by herself?"

"She has a visitors pass with her so she should be fine; plus if she can't find it she'll ask the people around her. She's a very smart girl," Tony replied with a smile in Ziva's direction.

"Yeah, we should trust her with that responsibility. See if she can get around fine," Tim remarked.

After saying that the three of them heard Tony's work phone ring, and he answered with a, "Hello, this is special agent Anthony DiNozzo speaking. … Yes sir, I'll bring her right there, after I find her." With that Tony put down the phone not wanting to hear his boss yell at him.

"Did something happen?" asked a concerned Ziva.

"The Director wants to meet Sarah for some odd reason. I hope it isn't for some odd reason."

"Well, I hope it goes well. Good luck to you both!" shouted McGee after Tony.

After getting to the snack room he saw Sarah eating a strawberry pop tart at one of the many tables in the snack room. "Sarah!" Tony shouted towards the girl, getting her attention. "Director Vance, my boss's boss, wants to see you."

"Why?" Sarah asked the simple question which made Tony forget how old Sarah actually is.

"I don't know honey, but we need to get going before Gibbs gets totally pissed at me for letting you wander around NCIS alone," Tony replied grabbing onto Sarah's wrist above her silly bands, which made her sigh mentally, know of the pain cause when someone grabbing her new cuts.

Tony knocked at the door and after hearing the approval of the Director; he opened the door, came in first then announced Sarah while she came in. The Director showed shock in his eyes, but not on his face.

"Hello, sir," Sarah politely said while bowing.

"Hello, Miss DiNozzo, please sit down," the Director pointed to a chair in front of his desk, then sat down opposite of her. Tony sat next to Sarah and Gibbs kept standing near the wall.

"Please call me Sarah," the girl insisted.

"Alright, Sarah, I have called you here to ask you a few simple questions. First question: do you mind taking a polygraph?"

"No sir, I do not mind at all."

"Next question: do you mind talking to Ducky for a while?"

"No, not at all, Director. What shall I talk with Ducky?" asked the girl cluelessly.

"Well, he's going to ask you a couple of personal, but not too personal, questions. Is that OK?

"Yes, that is completely OK with me."

"And lastly Gibbs will ask you the final questions, alright?" finished the Director.

"OK!" the young woman said standing up from her seat.

"One last thing," he said standing up from his seat also. He handed Tony a folder. "The things in this folder have where Sarah will be going to and at what time she will be going at. Understood?"

"Yes, Director," both Tony and Sarah said. The two went out the door into the squad room, but Gibbs stayed behind waiting for the two to get out of hearing range.

"What the hell is this about?" demanded Gibbs, looking at the Director with fire in his eyes.

"Well, if she wants to come here regularly without having to get a visitors pass every time, she has to answer some questions."

Gibbs looked at the Director, then turned away and let out a small smile while whispering, "So that's it? How sweet is that?"

"Don't think I'm going to sweet Gibbs, or else I have to get hard on everything that happens here." He looked directly at the more experienced man's eyes with purpose in them.

The older man scoffed at him saying, "I didn't mean that Leon." Gibbs walked out of the room also, but only to await Sarah so he can ask her the questions assigned to him.

"OK, Sarah," started Abby flipping the switch on the polygraph, "I would like to start now, if you don't mind."

"Go ahead and ask me," the girl said boldly.

"What is your name?"

"Sarah Michele Louise Werner DiNozzo," Sarah said short and sweet.

"No lie detected; any other names?"

"I have given death to all other names that I have been given."

"OK then. How old are you?"

"Sixteen years old."

"Do you have a permit or license?"

"Yes, I have a permit."

"Do you have any mental problems?"

"No I do not." Sarah new how to keep her heart calm, just in case she had to do something like this polygraph test; she trained herself.

"Do you have any special talents?"

"Singing and acting."

"Which city did you grow up in?"

"St. Louis."

"Why did you become a ward?"

"My parents couldn't handle a rambunctious teen like me, and they didn't want me to set an example to my kid brother and sister, so they decided the best way to handle was to send me off."

"That's all I have for you! Thanks, Sarah!" Abby shouted while hugging the younger girl.

"Thanks Abs," was all Tony had to say to the energetic Goth girl.

"You're welcome, Tony!"

"Now we have to go see Ducky in conference room number four. Are you ready to go see him, Sarah?" Tony asked the tired looking girl. When he received a nod, Tony pressed the elevator button to go up.

"Well hello, Sarah! How are you this fine afternoon?" asked a happy Ducky, smiling at the glum girl.

"Not so well, Ducky," the girl replied the continued, "I'm really tired now. I feel like I should go take a nap then go for a run."

"Well, that's a start to our discussion. What else are you feeling?"

"Like, I should go audition for a musical, mostly _Cats _or _The_ _Music Man_."

"Sarah, that is very interesting. What do you like to do in your free time?" It was a simple enough question, but it got the girl thinking.

"I like to read, write, draw, and sing."

"That's very interesting, Sarah. What type of music do you listen to?"

"Anything plus the country songs I do like to listen to. Rap is OK."

"Do you like to use the internet in your free time?"

"Oh! Yes I do, I forgot about that," she laughed at this and then stopped and stared at Ducky, waiting for her next question.

"What do you think of Adele?"

"She needs to sing more than just her breaking up with her boyfriend and getting together with a new one. Plus, she isn't that smart."

"Why do you say that?"

"Let's see, she had throat surgery BECAUSE of smoking, yet she STILL smokes. I mean, if I was her, I would have stopped smoking after I had the surgery because surgery isn't cheap."

"Ok, that is all the questions I have for you. Thank you Sarah, Anthony," Ducky said cheerfully, waving the two off.

"Now we go to conference room number one," stated Tony hoping to get these meetings over with as soon as possible.

"Hello Sarah, DiNozzo. Let's begin. How many times have been to a hospital?" Gibbs asked Sarah straight forward.

"I have been to the hospital three times. Once when I was born, another when I was seven or five because my parents thought something was wrong with me, and the last time was because I got bit by a Pit-bull," Sarah calmly said to the man on the other side of the table.

"Are you sure that is all?" asked Gibbs, noticing the terror of something getting out that she didn't want others to know about.

"Yes, sir that is all."

"Tony, can you please leave the room for a second. I have to ask Sarah something in private."

"OK, Boss. I got you," Tony replied, seeming like his energy has been drained from worry and exhaustion.

After Tony left, Gibbs said, "Honey, DiNozzo is very worried about you, can you please tell me what you don't want Tony to know."

"I can't. I promised myself I wouldn't tell anyone, but him, when the time is right of course," she replied to the older man, fixing her eyes on her hands, seeing a little bit of her cuts through the bracelets she wore. "I don't know if I trust you completely just yet, Gibbs." The girl started crying softly to herself. She didn't know Gibbs got up until she felt a hand on her back trying to sooth her pain away.

"Tell me when you think it's time, and then we'll talk, OK?"

"Sounds good, Gibbs." She whipped her tears away and stood up, and exited the door with Gibbs following behind the girl.

-END OF CHAPTER ONE! I HOPE YOU ALL LIKED IT!-


	2. Does He Really Know ReUp

I'm just re-uploading this chapter because I don't know what happened with FF.

Ch. 2

Tony led Sarah by the shoulders, trying to comfort the girl as much as possible. "Sarah, can you please tell me what Gibbs said to you that made you so upset?"

"Not yet," the seemingly young girl replied to her caretaker. "I'm going to see Abby now, OK?"

"Yes that's fine. I'll take you there. Is that fine?" asked Tony, giving his ward a small smile.

Sarah gave him a small smile back and replied, "I would love it if you show me Abby's lab."

"It's just down the elevator actually. Don't worry; I'll drop you off still."

"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!" Abby shouted, running toward the door, but when she looked outside she saw two sad DiNozzos. "What's wrong with you guys?" Abby pulled Tony into a hug, released him, and then pulled the young girl into a tight embrace.

"It's just been a tough day, Abby," Sarah replied, hugging Abby back just as much.

"Abs, you said..." Gibbs cut off his sentence as he walked through the lab's door and saw the two embraced in a hug.

"Oh, yes, Gibbs. I'll be right back, Sarah." Abby grabbed Gibbs by the wrist and pulled him to the computer. "What we are looking at right now is a piece of metal that Ducky pulled from our victim's neck, but it's not just any piece of metal. It's metal from a 2005 M80 pistol. That means our dead guy was hit with it, but was not shot with it since there was entry wound on our guy's body."

"Thank you, Abby, Gibbs said, exiting the lab, leaving with a "Caf-Pow!", Tony, and Sarah.

"Do you want some, Sarah?" Sarah shook her head. "What about you Tony?" Tony shook his head also. "More for me then," Abby stated and drank some "Caf-Pow!".

"Tony, can you leave us alone so we can have some girl talk?"

"Sure thing, Abby. Sarah I'll be in the squad room if you need me," Tony told Sarah, who nodded at him with a small smile.

"Sarah, do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

The young girl nodded her head slightly then said, "It's about one of the questions Gibbs asked me."

"Which question bother-?" Abby was interrupted by her lab's phone ringing. She put it on speaker phone and said, "Hello? This is Abby Sciuto's lab, Abby speaking."

"Hello, Miss Sciuto. This is Director Vance. Can you please send Sarah up to my office please? Thank you very much." Abby hung up the phone when the dial tone sounded, and when she looked back to see Sarah off, the girl was gone.

"I hope she knows her way," Abby said, worried for the scared, frightened girl.

Tony was finished talking to Frank's, the dead guy, wife and arranging a time for her to come in with her children and talk about what will happen now. Tony went back to finish reading about the project Frank was in when Ziva cut through his thoughts.

"Tony, Sarah is heading towards the Directors office by herself. Do you know why?" questioned the Israeli.

Tony looked behind him and indeed saw Sarah climbing the stairs at a fast pace. He jumped out of his seat, forgetting about the project, and ran after Sarah. "Sarah!" The girl turned around, stopping at the top of the stairs. "Where are you going?"

"The Directors office, he called me to see him," the girl replied smoothly, waiting for Tony to reach the finally step of the stairs to keep walking towards her destination.

"Do you know why?"

"No, I do not," she started while opening the Directors door without knocking, "and we'll find out now. Hello to you both." Sarah took a seat on the other side of Director Vance's desk.

"Why, hello Sarah, Tony. I need to ask you something," asked Vance, looking directly into Sarah's eyes.

"Go ahead, Director," replied Sarah, staring back at him.

"Would like a full time pass for NCIS?"

This brought a shock to both Tony and Sarah. They both looked at each other then back at Vance; they saw no signs of him lying to them.

"Y-yes, I would love one! What do I have to do to get one?" asked the girl, now full of life and energy, a smile adorning her face.

"All you have to do is sign here, and then you will come with me we can enter you into the main system so you can have access to places in the building so you don't have to have an agent with you at all times. Does that sound good to you?"

"That sounds brilliant! What do you think Tony?" she asked him with pleading eyes, hoping he would say yes.

"I think that it is a very swell idea. You can take her Vance, since I need to go back to work. See you later Sarah, Director, Boss," Tony agreed with a wave of his hand and left for the three of them to figure out what to do.

"Well, where do I sign?" asked Sarah and Vance handed her a clipboard with a piece of paper and pen attached to it.

Tony looked into his backpack that he had neglected since this morning and remember the manila envelope that the social worker gave him this morning when Sarah was dropped off. Tony recalled what happened that morning that gave a shock to him. He remembers that when he was getting ready in his apartment and just about to go when he heard a knock on the door. When he opened the door, he was confused on why two people were standing there with four suitcases and two back-packs.

"May I help you?" asked a muddled Tony.

"Yes are you," the man looks at his clipboard for a short time and then seemed to find what he was looking for and replied, "Anthony DiNozzo?"

"Yes, that's me, and who are you?"

"I'm Daniel Norton, and this is Sarah, your new ward."

"Wait, my what?" questioned Tony giving the man a weird look.

"This is your new ward, Sarah. It says here in 1996 that you went to our local station and signed up to be a caretaker, is that not correct?" interrogated the social worker, looking at his papers closely.

"Yes, that's right. Sorry I just forgot. Please, come into my apartment. I have to make a phone call really quick I'll be right back. Please, take a seat on the couch." Tony ran into his bedroom and made a call to the NCIS front desk so that they could tell Gibbs why he was late.

"You have a very nice place, Tony," Sarah spoke for the first time. She looked around the room, studying it intently. "May I call you Tony?"

"Thank you, Sarah, and yes you can call me Tony," he responded to the young woman.

"Here is all you need to know about Sarah," Daniel said, handing Tony the manila envelope. "Read this carefully and as soon as possible, please. I'll see myself out. I'll come back in a couple of days, Sarah, to check up on you. See you two later this week."

"What a very interesting day this has turned out to be," Tony thought to himself. "Shit! I forgot to read this." Tony started to read the papers that came in the envelope. A couple of pages in, Tony got to the section labeled _**ATTENTION! **_

Tony read carefully and started whispering the sentences he read, "If at all possible, do not let Sarah out of your sight. Do not let Sarah in possession of sharp objects; keep them out of reach if possible. Do not let her exceed fifteen minutes of showering unless she is shaving make sure she does not exceed twenty-five minuets. If at all possible while using public restrooms or when showering, have a female present during these times to make sure she does not harm herself. Check her wrists and thighs daily to make sure there aren't any cuts. If there some, no matter how small or big, how many there are, or how much she convinces you not to do this alert us at once so we will hospitalize her on her doctor's orders.

Her lungs are underdeveloped, so if she starts wheezing have her take one huff of her inhaler, and if she starts to have a seizer, just hold her to the ground and wait until the episode is over it is a side effect. Sarah also has first stage breast cancer. The cancer was caught early on, so if she goes through the proper amount of treatment, she will be fine.

Make sure Sarah all of her medication daily. There should be two pills for depression, one for anxiety, two for growth hormones, one for seizer episodes, four for breast cancer, and one for anxiety.

Also, if you believe Sarah hasn't been eating a lot, place a bowl of macaroni in front of her, stand over her, and tell her to eat it. _**DO NOT LEAVE UNTIL ALL THE MACARONI IS FINISHED!**_

Tony placed his head in his hand and sighed deeply. He heard a pair of feet come towards him and looked up to see McGee coming towards Tony with a worried look on his face. Tony shuffled the papers back into their correct order and put them back into the envelope.

"What's the matter Tony?" McGee inquired walking to stand by the side of Tony's desk.

Tony sighed then replied, "Nothing McGee. It's just a tiring work day."

"I can tell from the purses you are getting under your eyes," Ziva commented.

"It's bags, Ziva. You get bags under your eyes," retorted a sarcastic Tony.

Ziva stuck out her tongue at Tony playfully which he returned, feeling better after the bantering with Ziva and McGee for a couple of minutes before Gibbs came back, and they went back to work.

"Boss?" asked Tony, seeking permission to continue. Gibbs looked towards Tony signaling that he could continue. "Where's Sarah?"

"She is in the administration's office getting her official pass printed up," responded Gibbs, going back to his work which he hasn't been able to properly do because of distractions. "DiNozzo, what do you got?"

"The wife is coming in at 1600, she has two children. One at the age of twenty-four and the other at twenty," replied Tony. "He was working on a project near the northern coast on a boat called the 'Jason Dunham'. This specific boat is a destroyer in the process of making. It is almost complete."

"McGee, any progress in finding if any acids were purchased recently?"

"No sir, there was not any, but the destroyer did buy a barrel of pure acid a month ago," replied McGee obediently.

"Ziva, what about you?"

"No, Boss. There have not been any reports to the police recently in any factories or ships on base," responded Ziva.

The four heard the elevator ding then a rush of footsteps heading in Tony's direction. Tony was jumped on by Sarah, who giggled as she held onto Tony until she jumped off of him and hugged him. "Tony! I got my pass! Isn't that great?" Sarah asked Tony with a sparkle in her eye and a big luminous smile.

Tony looked at her, smiled slightly, and said, "That's fantastic, Sarah."

The other people in the squad room looked at Tony with a confused expression. They all thought Tony would be happy at hearing this, but he seemed sad about something that's going through his mind.

"What's wrong Tony? You don't seem happy right now. Did something happen?" Sarah was truly worried about her caretaker. She hasn't seen him like this. She's getting worried about him.

"Nothing's wrong. I really am happy for you! Now you can come to my work when you get out of school, which we need to sign you up for," Tony replied happier this time, smiling brighter now, not trying to think about the papers in the envelope that made him worried to the bone since Sarah was now in his care from today until she turns twenty.

"OK, that's good," she smiled brightly at the man before her, skipped to his desk, and sat down. She spotted an envelope on his desk sort of tossed to the side, but she decided to pay no attention to it.

Gibbs gave Tony a jerk of his head saying that he wants Tony to follow him. Gibbs took Tony to the corner by the steps where Gibbs started talking, "What the hell is the matter with you right now DiNozzo?"

"Nothing Boss, I guess I cannot have any distractions while working on big cases," Tony answered the man's question somewhat truthfully.

"Tony, you know what I mean. Did you find out something about Sarah that you don't like or something similar to that?"

"I know why Sarah's parents abandoned her," Tony said point blank to Gibbs's face.

Gibbs didn't know how to react at what Tony said, but soon he gathered himself and asked him, "Do you want to talk about it, Tony? You know the team is always here for you. Even Vance is here if you want to talk."

"I think I have to let the information sink through before I can do anymore or talk to anyone, Boss. I'll let you know when the time is right, OK."

"That's quite alright, Tony," assured Gibbs, walking towards the elevator, wanting to get some time to talk to Ducky and maybe Abby before he gets pulled away to some other place.

Tony sighed and went back to his desk only to find Sarah in his seat looking at her pass with admiration. "Hey, Sarah," started Tony, "do you want to go get a snack? It's been a couple hours since you last ate. It's just about snack time." Tony pulled out a dollar-fifty and gave it to Sarah's open hands.

"Thanks, Tony! I'll go get something to munch on. Would you like anything?" the girl replied looking at her wonderful caretaker.

"No, I don't want anything right now. Maybe I'll get something later, OK?" Tony sighed after the girl was out of hearing range, and he whispered, "What am I going to do? I hope we'll be able to get through this battle." Tony went to sit back at his desk, and he went to work searching for anything more about the dead Marine.

Ziva and Tim both look at Tony with concerned eyes, worried about their friend who was very happy that morning, now sad and depressed.

Tony suddenly got up, making the two other agents jump. He mumbled something about seeing the wife in one of the conference rooms. "If you see three visitors, can you please bring them to conference room number two?" Tony continued towards the conference rooms with determination in his step.

"Will do, Tony," confirmed Ziva.

Twenty minutes later, the two left in the squad room heard the elevator ding. They both got up to see who it was, and saw three people with visitor passes clipped onto their shirts get off the elevator and they started looking around.

Ziva walked up to the older woman with greying hair and wrinkles forming on her forehead and asked her, "Are you the family of Lieutenant Frank Sanchelski?"

"Yes, we are. I'm Margie, this is Emily and Robert," replied the wife, sticking out her hand for Ziva to shake.

"Hello, if you would please follow me, I'll take you to agent DiNozzo."

When the door was opened the sun from the windows blinded the four. Jumping up from his chair, Tony walked to the Sanchelskis and greeted them with a wide smile. "Hello, my name is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo and we will be talking about your family members personal affairs."

Twenty minutes later of tears, shouts, yells, grinding of teeth, and soothing led to the end of the fours discussion on the top of Lieutenant Sanchelski. "Thank you, Agent DiNozzo. You were very kind and patient with us when we are in our time of pain and confusion," Margie said, giving Anthony a toothy smile. Her eyes were red from crying for ten minutes straight.

"Yes, thank you very much," Emily added her two cents in the pot. Robert glared slightly at the older male not fazing Tony in the least.

"You all are very welcome. I hope everything will turn out fine." Tony gave them a big smile leading them to the elevator. When the doors shut, Tony sighed for what felt like the fiftieth time that day. He saw Gibbs walking into the squad room and he ran over there with a shout of, "Gibbs!"

"What is it, Tony?" asked the aggravated man.

"I just talked with the family. They all seemed like charming people, except for the son, who yelled at his family, and me and glared at me the whole time we were talking. Should I bring him back in?"

"No, we found a different suspect who was on the ship late last night with the Lieutenant." replied Gibbs.

"Oh, really? Tell me where I should pick him up and I'll go get him for you, Boss."

"Ziva go with Tony. Our guy is Lieutenant Steve Durrell. He's at the ship right now. Go," commanded Gibbs.

The two agents grabbed their gear, and Tony saw Sarah coming back from the break room. He told her, "Sarah, I'll be leaving now. Timmy, watch Sarah for me!"

"She can go with you, DiNozzo," Gibbs said to Tony, which made Sarah get excited a little bit.

"Yay! I'm going to see you in action, Tony!" Sarah shouted skipping after the two agents.

When the three got to the docks, they saw the destroyer that they needed to look for Lieutenant Steve in. They asked around for a couple of minutes, and then finally someone knew were Lieutenant Steve was. "Yeah, I saw him heading to the break room just a few seconds ago. He has a fifteen minuet break so you'll be able to catch up with him. Just head back out the ship, go into the building across the way, and once inside it's the third door on the left."

"Thank you very much, captain," thanked Ziva. The three went into the building and saw Lieutenant Steve getting a snack from a vending machine. "Lieutenant Steve?" asked Ziva, taking a long look at their suspect.

"Maybe, depends on who's asking," stated the man in the room. He had a rounded belly, thinning hair, green eyes, and glasses adorning his face.

"I'm Special Agent DiNozzo and this is Agent David. We're from NCIS," replied Tony pulling out his badge and Ziva did also.

"Alright, who's the girl then?" The man glared at Sarah slightly. Tony stood in front of the girl defensively.

"She's none of your concern right now just answer our question."

The man sighs and says to the group, "Yes, I am Lieutenant Steve. What do you want?"

"Someone's very grouchy today," Sarah mumbled to herself looking at the delectable snacks in the machine.

"What did you say little girl?" asked a raging marine.

"I said "someone's very grouchy today!" Can you not hear out of either ears or something?" Sarah shouted at the man, walking toward the man, getting ready to fight with him.

"Do you want to go little girl?"

"Little girl? I am NOT little old man!" Tony held Sarah by her arms and put her hands in cuffs.

"Old man? Why I ought a-." Ziva cuffed the man's hands behind his back restraining him from charging Sarah.

"Sir, you are under arrest for disturbing the peace and fighting on Base. You have the right to remain silence. Anything you say will be recorded and be used in a court of law viewed by your own peers. Do you accept these terms?" asked Ziva guiding Lieutenant Steve towards NCIS's car and pushing him into the back seat.

"Sarah, you're just going to wear the cuffs until we get back to headquarters, and then we'll take them off then, OK?" Tony told the girl bringing her to the passenger's seat, afraid that the Lieutenant and Sarah would start fighting again.

Sarah sighed and then nodded her head understanding what Tony had said. She got into the car and hears the annoying man say, "Why isn't she going to be arrested, huh? That's not fair! I demand to see my lawyer!"

"Sir, please understand you were trying to pick a fight with a sixteen year old girl?" asked agent David looking at the man skeptically.

"So? She's old enough to control her emotions!" the Lieutenant shouted at the young girls head.

"You're older than me! You should be able to control your emotions better than I can! You're like, forty years older than me!" Sarah shouted back at the man, turning around in her seat, facing the man who's giving her a glare, which she returns ten-fold.

"Both of you, clam down or you'll be held for harassment sir and you, girl, will be arrested for harassment!" Ziva barked at the two fighting people. They stopped, looked at Ziva, and ceased fighting. Sarah stared out the window and the man glared at his legs, trying his best to control his emotions.

Once they returned to NCIS they started arguing again so they were separated. The Lieutenant to one off to the interrogation room to be questioned, Sarah was guided to Tony's chair, and she sat down in it.

"Sarah, what has gotten into you? Why did you pick a fight with a marine who is probably ten times stronger than you are?" asked Tony, looking at the girl with a concerned look.

"Tony, what the hell is going on, and why is Sarah in hand cuffs?" asked Gibbs giving the two a strange look.

"Sarah and the Lieutenant were fighting about something rather stupid. It's kind of ridiculous," replied Tony to his Boss.

"He was giving attitude, Gibbs! He deserved a good punch in the face, but Tony wouldn't allow that!" yelled Sarah, her anger burning back to life.

"Sarah, if I hadn't held you back you would have been arrested for real and I would have had to press charges against my own ward. I don't want you in any more trouble then you already are."

"Wh-what do you mean by I'm in trouble? I didn't think I was in trouble," Sarah said while Tony un-cuffed her wrists.

"You know what, we will discuss this when we get home." Tony grabbed his jacket, keys to his car, and grabbed Sarah's wrist.

"Tony!" Sarah yelled his name, causing him to stop and turn around. "Please, tell me, why am I in trouble." She looked straight into his eyes causing him to look away.

MWAHAHA! Sorry I had to do this. I had to leave a cliff hanger. To all my dearest readers, I will post the next chapter in another couple of days. Thank you for reading! I do not own NCIS. (Forgot this last chapter.)


	3. The Revelation

Ch. 3 I DON'T OWN NCIS!

Tony stayed silent for a while before looking directly in her eyes and saying, "Sarah, I know what happened. I've read your papers." Tony pulled Sarah into a hug after she got the meaning of his words and started balling her eyes out. "I wanted to discuss this at home, but you wanted an answer now. I'm sorry I hurt you." He pulled away slightly so he could look into her eyes. "Let's go home ok? Does that sound good?" The girl nodded her head a couple of times then she walked to the elevator and pressed the down button. "I'll be back in twenty-five minutes guys, is that fine, Boss?"

"Twenty-five minutes DiNozzo, I'm timing you," replied Gibbs, waving Tony off. When he turned around, Gibbs smiled at Tony's love for his ward. Gibbs knew that Tony would be a good father for Sarah. "Tony's a kind person underneath under all the sarcasm. When he gets to care for someone dear to him, he knows how to be good to them. This time though, I wonder how well he'll do," thought Gibbs, a frown forming back on his face.

"Boss?" asked Ziva, looking over at her superior. Gibbs gave her the OK, so she continued, "Do you think both of them will be alright?"

"It all depends, David."

"It all depends on what, Boss?"

"On whether Tony is the man I think he is, and the man I know he is." The group silently went back to work.

Once Tony and Sarah got back to the apartment, Tony grabbed some water for Sarah to sip on while they talk.

"First of all, please show me your wrists." Tony looked at the girl with saddened eyes, pleading her not to hide it anymore. Sarah looked at him with terror in her eyes, but then she pulled her silly bands off her revealing the cuts she had made that day. "When did you do these?" he asked his voice soft, with concern sparkling in his eyes.

Sarah started to visibly relax, trusting Tony not to yell at her or beat her for doing such a thing. "When… I went back to NCIS's car at the crime scene," she told him, looking out the window towards the city; flinching when Tony stood from his seat, went to squat down in front of her, taking her wrist, and feeling the cuts. When she flinched from his touch Tony took his hands away from her wrist and looked up at her face.

"With what?" he asked her, looking straight into her eyes, wanting the truth from the girl.

"There… Was a knife… Under the… driver's seat." Sarah couldn't look at Tony anymore, she was ashamed of herself. "Please… Don't send me away from you, Tony! I really do like it here! I LOVE it here! I can't stand to be away from the team one day! Plus… You make me feel safe, unlike my old family."

"Can you tell me what happened with your old family, Sarah?" Tony couldn't bear making his ward so upset. His reason told him to call the office and tell them what happened, but his heart told him to let her stay.

"They… Beat me, until I was black and blue. It started when I was in fifth grade when they started hitting me. Every, last, one of them did. If they were angry, I was their punching bag. If I did something wrong, they would beat even more than they did before, but they never dared to break a bone. They didn't want to get caught because the hospital would ask questions about all the bruises I got. They'd send me to hospitals every now and then because I would cut and starve myself, and have a mental break down every so often."

Sarah paused for a few seconds, but then continued on by saying, "The last time I broke, I was in really bad shape. I was ninety-nine pounds, had more than 200 cuts in all on my body, and I fell down a flight of concrete stairs and I was in a coma for a month. When I woke up, they immediately started asking questions, like 'How did you so many bruises on you?' 'Why did you cut yourself?' Things like that… When I finished answering them, truthfully, they took me to the behavior health center and put me on the red zone list. That's where the… worst people with disorders are. While I was there, they told me that I would be put on the ward list because my parents confessed to beating me, I had underdeveloped lungs, I had major anxiety and depression, I had first stage breast cancer, and I had seizers every so often from my medications mixing."

Tony pulled Sarah into a hug, hoping to ease her pain. She had a few more things to say before she was finished though. "A month ago, was when we first met actually." Tony pulled back in surprise, looking at the girl with a shocked expression. "The social workers moved me to Virginia two months ago because my parents wanted me back and that they were sorry. They tried sneaking into the health center a couple of times to try busting me out of there. Well, when you came that day, I thought you were one of those fancy nurses at the hospital because I had just gotten there and I didn't know my way around. You said you weren't a nurse and you starting joking around a little, making me laugh. You made me feel something I hadn't felt in a long time, Tony. What you made me feel, was happiness." Tony started to remember now: the girl, their talking, her troubles, his troubles, and his job. Everything.

"That was you?" he asked shocked the pieces finally fitting together. "It was you! I remember now. Oh sweetie." He hugged the girl tightly to him, afraid to let go. "I won't let you go, but this is the only time, you got it? That's it. Promise me to try your best, please?"

"I promise Tony. I really do promise. Thank you so much, Tony." Sarah hugged him back. When she felt him pull away so she pulled away also.

"I got to go back to work now, Sarah. I'm going to ask one of my neighbors to watch you. I'll be right back, please, be good," he asked of her and she nodded her head to relaxed in her seat.

"I knew coming here would be a good idea." Sarah let a tear fall down her face, and she wiped the evidence of her crying away and pulled up her bracelets back up. She smiled brightly, looked out the window, and enjoyed the silence while it lasted.

When Tony came back he let himself in and his next door neighbor, an older woman in her sixties named Mrs. Goldings. They both heard Sarah talking to herself, but what she was saying was the strangest part.

"… Why are you saying that to me? I thought we were friends, Angel… You agree with Angel, Chad? Why don't you trust my decision to stay here? ... Tony wouldn't take you guys away from me, tell them Aang! … See! Aang is probably the smartest out of all of you! He trusts Tony also!"

"Sarah?" asked Tony looking at the girl standing in the middle of the living room with no one there, yet arguing with someone.

"Yes, Tony?" she asked, hoping Tony didn't hear her arguing with the voices.

"Can you give us a minute Mrs. Goldings?"

"Sure thing, Anthony, take your time," replied the wise woman walking out of the door.

"Who were you just arguing with, Sarah?"

"My friends, Tony… Please don't make them go away! I really like them and they like me, but two of them don't trust you and they think you're going to make them go away. Please don't, Tony!" Sarah cried startling Tony slightly. She must have imagined them up when she was younger. They were probably the only people she could trust fully.

Tony sighed and said, "I won't take your friends away from you, Sarah. I promise you." Tony gave her one last hug before heading toward the door and opening so Mrs. Goldings can come in again. "Mrs. Goldings, this is my ward, Sarah. Please take special care of her while I'm gone please. Sarah, you're in trusting hands, so don't worry. I'll be back between ten and eleven."

"Thank you, Tony!" Sarah hugged him before he left and closed the door after waving to him.

"So, Sarah, what would you like to do?" asked Mrs. Goldings to the young girl.

"Um, we can see what movies Tony has and we can watch one of those," suggested Sarah starting to look through the movies.

"That sounds nice." Mrs. Goldings sat herself on the couch before the grand TV.

Tony walked into NCIS with a bounce in his step. "Hello my wonderful team!" He had the widest smile on his face that anyone has seen him wear the past few weeks.

"Tony, you look like you're in love," commented Ziva smiling. "You're not, I hope."

"No, little Ziva, I am just very happy to see that things are going smoothly."

"That's good, Tony. Now get back to work," ordered Gibbs.

"Yes, Boss!" Tony went straight to work, filling out a report about the case so far.

"Tony, I sent you an email of the interrogation we did of Lieutenant Steve. It gets feisty at some parts, but we got a confession out of him," Tim told Tony the ending results of the case, closing it for good.

"Thanks, McSmarty! That'll help me a lot on my report."

"Plus, I know why Sarah wanted to give the guy a good beating," Gibbs mumbled to himself, typing away at his computer. Tony laughed at the comment, nodding his head.

When Tony was about to listen to the recording when his work phone rang, he answered it saying, "Hello, this is-." He was cut off when someone on the other end started talking suddenly. "Sarah, calm down honey! What's the matter now?" He waved his team mates over and put the phone on speaker.

"Well, first there was this load explosion, and then- AHH!" the phone cut of at Sarah's screaming.

"Sarah? Sarah? Answer me!" yelled Tony to the phone, trying to get the girl to answer.

"Tony! She's not there anymore. McGee! Call Abby! Tell her to trace the call that just came in to DiNozzo's phone. Now!" Gibbs ordered and the team went as quickly as possible to get ready for travel and for a possible fight.

"Abby said it came from Sarah's phone. She says Sarah's traveling this way now!" Tim shouted to the team. "She is coming up the elevator." After Tim said that, the girl burst into the squad room, scaring many of the occupants in the room. Sarah ran over to Tony panting and with a wide eyed expression.

"T-Tony, some-something b-bad just happened. I d-don't under-understand what's going- what's going on," stuttered out the girl. Tony glanced over the girl. She had blood all over her clothes, and she had turns running down her face. "Some men in black tried-tried getting me, but before-but before they did they-they k-killed Mrs. Goldings while she was trying to pro-protect me. I ran after throwing the lamp at them-at them so I-so I could escape. That's-that's-that's what happened. I was so scared!"

"Sarah, honey, let's go see Abby now, OK? You're safe now. You're safe here at NCIS. We will protect you, don't worry," Tony tried comforting the small girl leading her to Abby's lab then to autopsy.

"Ziva, go with McGee to Tony's apartment and tape it off as a crime scene, I'll be there as soon as I can," instructed Gibbs following Tony and Sarah.

-And that is the end of chapter three! I'm sorry for having it shorter than the other two chapters! I really wanted to continue, but my friend was all like, I don't think you'll have a chance to anytime soon if you don't. So this is it. I hope you liked chapter three!-


	4. I'm Going Back To Hell

Ch. 4 I DON'T OWN NCIS

"Sarah, let me just help you take off your shoes for you. We need to process the blood on them," pleaded Abby, looking at the blood covered girl. Sarah still had a scared look in her eyes. Gibbs watched from the sidelines as to not interfere and scare the girl even more. He didn't think of himself as too terrifying, but he only was a terror when he needed to be, it just came naturally to him.

"O-OK, Abby, you can take my shoes off for me. Let me just sit on the floor, OK." Sarah plopped onto the lab's floor so Abby could take off her shoes. Abby had a tough time taking the girls shoes off because the girl kept twitching her feat.

"Can you help me, Tony? I just need you to hold Sarah's legs still. Try not to get too much blood on you," Abby requested of Tony. He gave her a nod and held Sarah's legs still and they finally got the girls shoes off her feet so they could run the blood tests. "Can I have your vest also, please, Sarah? It would also help us catch the scary bad men." Tony and Gibbs were fairly confused on why Abby was talking to Sarah like she was a five year old.

"Ok, Abby. Thank you for helping me," Sarah said with a very childish voice, instead of her mature young lady voice.

"So that's why," thought Tony and Gibbs. "Sarah returned to the mind state of a child. My poor girl, I hope she'll be able to recover from whatever she saw."

"Abby?" asked Sarah looking towards the older woman in front of her.

"Yes, sweetie? What's the matter?" Abby replied with concern in her voice.

"Can you take of my vest for me? My arms hurt a lot when I move them," Sarah asked her with hurt in her eyes.

"Here, let me look at your arms for you." Abby took the girls right arm and examined it. Her eyes widened enormously which Tony could see, making him concerned. "Tony! Why didn't you notice this before! Her arms are slit open!" Gibbs eyes widened at the announcement, wondering how the hell Tony missed the cut on the young girls arm.

"What?" yelled Tony, taking a step forward he tried to look at the girl's arm, making Sarah flinch back towards Abby. She looked at him with scared wide eyes.

"Did-did I do something wrong?" asked Sarah, struck with terror at being yelled at. Gibbs felt his heart ache at the fear in her eyes.

"No, sweet heart, you didn't do anything wrong. Tony just missed something he should have seen earlier. That's what made him angry. We're going to go see Ducky now. You like Ducky, right?"

Sarah nodded her head and said, "I do like Ducky very much. He's a very nice man." Gibbs felt a smile play on his from the girl saying that.

Abby started leading the young girl to Ducky's autopsy room and replied to the girl, "That's good."

"Do you like Ducky, Abby?" the girl asked innocently.

"Of course, Ducky is a very good friend of mine. Just like Tony, and McGee, and Ziva, and Gibbs are all my friends."

"Oh, OK. That's good. Having friends is nice, isn't it?"

"It very much is, Sarah. Here we are. Oh Ducky!" called Abby to her old friend. The man pocked his head from around a corner.

"Why, hello Abigail, Jethro, Tony. What are you in need of today? How are you, Sarah?" asked the kind older man to the young girl, spotting all the blood on her clothes.

"I'm fine; it's just my arms hurt a lot when I move them. Abby looked at them, and then she yelled at Tony about him not noticing something on my arm," replied the girl. Her state of mind shocking the Doctor, he realized right away that she was in pain from experiencing something traumatic. She was acting like a child, explaining something to a well trusted adult after something bad had happened.

"Well then, let's take a look at your arms, shall we? Please sit up here, Sarah." Ducky patted a spot on one of the autopsy tables, which Tony helped Sarah get on since it was a little tough for her.

After a few seconds of examining her right arm, Ducky exclaimed, "Oh dear me! This is rather deep. Sarah, do you remember how you got this cut on your arm?" Sarah shook her head, making Ducky sigh. "Do you know what happened tonight, at all?"

"I remember Mrs. Goldings and I were watching _The Wizard of Oz_ and then I think the door was kicked down, and men in black came in and they tried to hurt me and Mrs. Goldings. Everything went black after that. I remember riding my motor cycle on the sidewalk I think it is? Then I was talking to Abby, and then we came to see you, Ducky. That's all I remember," replied the girl honestly. This made Ducky sigh.

"You might need stiches, but first I'm going to see how deep your cut is, and then we'll be able to see what we can do about those men in black. Does that sound good, Sarah?" asked the wise man, getting out his first aid kit. Gibbs sighed from the background, hoping that the girl didn't have to go to the hospital to get stitches.

"That sounds really good, Ducky!"

After cleaning of the semi-dried blood, giving the cotton balls and Sarah's vest to Abby and bandaging Sarah's arms up, a call came in from Ziva to Tony.

"Hello?" answered Tony, putting the phone on speaker so Ducky and Gibbs could hear too.

"Tony! Are you with Gibbs?" asked Ziva, almost rushing her sentence.

"We're here, Ziva," replied Gibbs stepping away from the wall, joining Tony who was next to Ducky and Sarah.

"Well, first off Tony your place has been trashed, and there is blood everywhere. We're sending pictures to Abby as we speak. There is in fact a dead body of a woman named Mrs. Goldings. She's sixty-four, widowed, and living alone. We informed her children of her death, and most of them didn't take it well. There was blood on the bathroom floor as well." This made Tony's heart stop, and he looked over towards his ward, who gave him a confused, sad look. "Boss, we would like you to come over as soon as possible to check out the apartment, just in case we missed anything," reported Ziva.

"Yeah, I'll be there in five minutes. Tony and Sarah come with me," ordered Gibbs to the two. He walked out of the autopsy room towards the garages.

"You heard Gibbs, Sarah. Let's go." Tony held out his hand for Sarah to grab a hold of so she could get off of the table. "I hope we'll be able to tolerate the sight," Tony whispered to himself.

Sarah looked at Tony with worry in her eyes. She asked, "Tony, what's wrong?"

Tony looked down at the sixteen year old girl with a small smile on his face, and he replied, "I don't know what we are going to do now, since our home is a crime scene. That's all."

"Well, can't we live here, at NCIS?" It was such an innocent question; it made Tony laugh a little bit.

"No, sweet heart, we can't live here. There aren't any beds or anything like that."

"We could use sleeping bags!" Sarah blurted out, with determination on her face.

Tony laughed again, and stated this, "Maybe Abby will let us stay at her place."

"Really? I would love to stay at Abby's house! Can we please, please, please?" The girl was looking at Tony with a sad puppy expression.

"I said I'll ask her, OK? I can't make any promises."

"Fine, Tony." Sarah pouted and crossed her arms in front of her.

"How about I call her now and ask her?" asked Tony getting out his phone while they got into the car with Gibbs in the driver's seat turning on the car.

Sarah face brightened up immediately and she shouted, "Yes, please call and ask her!" Sarah started jumping up and down in her seat with excitement.

A couple minutes of talking with Abby, Tony finally turned around in his seat and spoke to the girl, "Abby said we could." Sarah smile widened more and she squealed which caused Gibbs to grimace slightly.

"Hurray! I get to sleep-over at Abby's tonight with Tony! This is going to be fun!" yelled Sarah with the most excitement Tony and Gibbs have ever seen coming from a teenager, but then again, Sarah wasn't in her right state of mind then either. She was a young child of five years old most likely.

"OK, OK, calm down now, Sarah. Just after we make this trip to the apartment to get our stuff, we'll be able to go to Abby's, OK?"

"Ok, Tony that sounds good!"

The three arrived at the apartment building and Gibbs said, "Sarah, stay here. We'll be right back."

"Can't I go with you guys though?" asked the small girl looking at Tony with a pleading expression.

"Boss, you know that we can't just leave her here. She's not in her right state of mind. She'll probably trust any stranger right now, and she can't defend herself without opening her wounds up. Please can she just stand outside of the room?" begged Tony, looking at his Boss with a pleading expression.

Gibbs sighed and then motioned for Sarah to follow them. Sarah smiled, jumped out of the car, closed the car door, and ran up to the two. She hugged Tony then went inside, skipping after Gibbs.

"Stay outside the room with Ziva, OK Sarah?" Tony told the girl.

"Yes, Tony! Hi, Ziva!" greeted Sarah, waving at the ex-Mossad agent.

"Hi, Sarah, how are you?" asked Ziva.

Tony closed the door so Sarah couldn't sneak a peek into the apartment.

"Poor Mrs. Goldings, she was such a nice, old lady," commented Tony, looking at the body on the ground.

"Tony, can you please come to your bathroom? There is something I need to show you," called McGee from the bathroom. Tony went into the bathroom, looking at McGee, wanting him to show him what he needed to see. Tim pointed to the mirror. On it was a bloody handprint, led by a trail of blood dragging down the mirror.

"Oh my god. Do you… know who's it is?" asked Tony with fear brewing in his stomach.

"We got a swab for evidence. Abby's going to look it over once we get back to NCIS. I know what you're thinking, Tony. I hope it isn't hers either." Tim gave Tony a look, one that can be read as compassion and empathy. He was in this same position as Tony; McGee knows how it feels the fear of a loved one coming up to you, covered in blood, and the confusion on if you should the right thing or the wrong thing.

"Thanks for the concern, Probie." Tim groaned at the nickname given to him long ago. "Oh, come one, Probie! Don't give me that kind of face! We got to keep our heads held high. Make sure nothing can bring you down, OK?"

"Yeah, Tony, you're right. Thanks for the advice."

"Anytime, McLovin'." Tim glared slightly at Tony's retreating back heading towards Gibbs.

"What was in the bathroom, DiNozzo?" asked the senior agent.

"A bloody handprint on the mirror," replied Tony, looking behind him toward the bathroom. "Do you think Sarah will be alright, Boss?"

Gibbs looked directly into Tony's eyes and replied, "I don't think, DiNozzo. I know she will be alright. All we have to do is wait for the right time. You never know, she might be better-," Gibbs sentence was cut off by the apartment's door slamming open.

"Gibbs, Tony, Sarah passed out while we were talking. Should I call an ambulance, or should I drive her there myself?" asked an alarmed Ziva, running up to the two with terror in her eyes.

"What?" asked Tony with shock written all over his face.

"Tony, pick Sarah up and carry her to the car. Tim inform the hospital we're on our way. Ziva, call Abby and tell her to meet us there. Ducky, hurry with that body and tell Palmer to take the body back to NCIS. You're coming with us Doc," ordered Gibbs to his team, which they got straight to it.

"Sarah? Sarah, can you hear me?" Sarah's vision was fuzzy, just waking up from the black abyss she was just in.

"Tony? Is that you?" asked Sarah, trying to sit up so she can see around better.

"Keep laying down sweetie," commanded Abby's soft, gentle voice. "You lost a lot of blood today. You can't get up just yet." Abby lightly pushed the girl back down to the bed. She pet Sarah's head trying to keep the girl calm.

"Abby? That's you right?"

"Yes, it's Abby sweet heart. How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine. Who else is here?" Sarah inquired about the people in her room.

"Tony, Ziva, Tim, Gibbs, Ducky, and I are all here with you, Sarah," Abby stated, Ziva grabbed Sarah's hand so she could hold onto, giving the young girl comfort.

"Thank you all for coming," the girl said, ending with a yawn.

"I'll tell the doctor you're awake," Ducky said, going out into the hallway to find Sarah's doctor.

"She's awake now? That's good. Thank you for informing us doctor (A/N: OK children, for the people who do not watch NCIS, Ducky is in fact a doctor)," the group heard a male say to Ducky. The doctor walked into the room. He was about fifty, but he looked like he was around his late thirties, he had black hair, and brown eyes. "Hello, miss DiNozzo. I'm Doctor Joseph Hunt. How are you?"

Sarah looked it from her bed to take a look at her doctor, and her eyes widened. "Uncle Joe?" asked the girl with shock in her voice.

"Sarah? Is that my niece, Sarah? Oh my goodness! It is you! How have you been? I haven't seen you in three years," the doctor said, going over to Sarah's bed to talk to her better. "You wound up with some nasty cuts on your arms, didn't you?" It was more of a statement than a question. "What happened?"

"I'm ok. Some men ambushed me in my caretaker's apartment. They killed my babysitter who was trying to protect me. I was so scared, but then I wound up fine after going to his work and calmed down, or at least I think that's what happened," Sarah replied to her uncle.

"You think?" asked Joe, giving her a skeptical look, writing her answer down on his clipboard.

"Doctor, she had a traumatic experience, cut her some slack," commented Abby, grabbing Sarah's free hand in her grasp.

"That is true, some people block out bad memories from their mind, but in Sarah's case it might mean something else."

"What do you mean by, "in Sarah's case" Doctor?" asked Tim, looking towards the girl with compassion in his eyes.

"Who knows what, Sarah?"

"Only Tony knows," Sarah said, nodding to Tony standing at the foot of her bed.

"Well, Mr. DiNozzo, may I please see you in the hallway?" asked Doctor Hunt, leading Tony into the hallway.

"Sarah, do you care to tell us what those two are talking about?" asked Gibbs from his spot leaning against the wall.

"It's a really long story, but I guess I'll tell you some of it. Sometimes of have metal break downs because of stuff that happened in my past. I would revert back into that of a child at age five, but I wouldn't be conscience about it. It's kind of like sleep walking. It would also happen with traumatic experiences, mind you. Abby, did I act like a child when I went to NCIS?" Sarah asked the woman to her right.

"You did, sweetie. I'm sorry for everything you went through," replied Abby, hugging the girl to her chest. "Is there anything you need?"

"I am a little parched. Do you mind getting me some water?" asked the polite girl.

"Tim would be happy to get you some water, wouldn't you, Tim?" Abby said shooting the man a look and he went right on it.

"Sarah, I may have some unhappy news for you," Doctor Hunt stated, walking into the room with a glum looking Tony behind him.

"What is it?" Sarah asked her uncle noticing Tony's face, she knew this information wouldn't end well with the team.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to hospitalize you."

"What?" yelled Ziva, Abby, Gibbs, Ducky and Tim, who just got back from getting Sarah's water, with shocked expressions.

"I won't allow this," Abby declared, becoming defensive of the young girl.

"I won't allow this either," Gibbs affirmed, walking towards Sarah's bed.

"Neither will I." McGee walked in front of Sarah's bed, waiting to defend the girl.

"Of course I won't allow this," Ziva said, ready to get her hidden knife out to force the doctor to rethink his decision.

"It'll only be for a week, folks. It won't be for any longer. I give you my word on that," assured Doctor Hunt.

"No! We refuse any type of hospitalization for Sarah, no matter how long it is!" shouted Abby stepping toward Doctor Hunt, but she was held back by Gibbs.

"Just let him do it," Sarah said in a tired voice, sounding like she was giving up. "I'm used to being put into a hospital." She rolled over so her back was facing the doctor who now had a pained expression on his face.

"No! Gibbs! Tell him he can't do that!" Abby cried out.

"Hospitalization won't do anything for Sarah! The poor girl has been put through enough today! I don't want her put through any more," Ziva screamed at the doctor.

"Ladies, calm down. The man is just doing his job," reasoned Ducky, trying to get the girls to calm down.

"But it isn't fair, Ducky!" cried Abby, tears threatening to fall out of her eyes burning with fire.

"Can we at least lower the number of days that she is going to be hospitalized?" asked Tim with a sad, kicked puppy expression adorning his face.

"Tim! Are you on his side, or Sarah's side?" Abby demanded of McGee, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I'm on Sarah's side of course! I'm trying to compromise with Doctor Hunt."

"I guess she can stay for four days. No less than that though. That's my finale deal," stated Doctor Joe Hunt, looking over all the members of NCIS.

"That's better, I guess," mumbled Tony, looking out into the hall way instead of looking at his ward, feeling ashamed of himself for not being able to protect her.

"Let the man do what he wants, I have to go there one way or another," Sarah droned out, looking over her shoulder toward the door.

"Why do you say that, Sarah?" asked Ziva looking at the depressed girl with confusion seeping through her voice.

"They are the reason, Mr. Norton and his cronies." Sarah pointed toward the three men in the doorway.

The three men were very tall fellows, all dressed in black suits and white shirts underneath. The middle man was the tallest of them, and he was the first to speak, "We are Mr. Norton's colleges. My name is Phil Cray, this is Fin Dermal, and this is Mark Mitogen. We have come to take Sarah to be hospitalized."

"We are NCIS, and we forbid you to take Sarah anywhere," Abby shouted at the men, but Gibbs grabbed her before she could advance more than a step.

"Abby, we have no authority over social workers. Plus, it's only going to be for a couple of days anyway. We can make it through those days, we're tough people!" encouraged McGee, trying to make Abby feel better.

Tears fell down Abby's face, trying to be tough like McGee said that they were. "What they ARE," she corrected herself.

Sarah lifted herself from her bed, and her uncle helped her with the equipment. "Thank you uncle, for caring about me." She gave him a quick hug, and then she proceeded to hug the NCIS team. "Come visit me please?"

They all nodded their heads, sadness in their hearts, their expressions, and their souls.

Tony collapsed in one of the chairs and fell asleep. He couldn't stand the overwhelming feeling of guilt weighing on his conscience. The rest of NCIS looked towards Tony, trying to express their sympathy with Tony, their sadness, and their guilt also. The team started filing out with Ducky leaving first, until all that was left was a sleeping Tony.

Hours later, a nurse came in and woke Tony up from his guilt ridden dreams. After leaving the hospital, Tony thought, "How am I supposed to be a good father, when I can't protect my own ward?"

For the rest of the night, Tony stayed awake, thinking of what to do next.


	5. They're Here! Why?

Ch. 5

When Abby woke up the next morning, she found Tony lying down on her couch with his back facing her direction. She walked up to wake Tony up, but before she could shake the man awake, he said, "Abby, I don't know what to do now. Everything's so confusing to me. How am I supposed to protect her, when I can't even be with her?"

Abby's heart dropped to her stomach after hearing Tony's painful expression in his voice. She said to him, "I'm sorry, Tony. We tried our best to keep her from leaving us. At least we got to lower the number of days." Abby felt tears of sympathy fall down her cheeks. She sat near Tony's head, picking it up and setting it on her lap.

"The thing is Abby I couldn't help her when she was getting attacked, when she had a mental break down, when she was sent away. MCGEE did a better job at helping her than I did. I was going to let her suffer through a week of hospitalization, and McGee got to lower the number of days she was going to be put in there. I don't know why I didn't think of that." Tears flooded out of Tony's eyes, clutching his fists together. Abby started petting Tony's hair, trying to comfort the lonely man.

"Tony, just remember that NCIS is always here for you. How about this, after work, you and I will go see Sarah, OK?" She tilted Tony's head so she could look in his eyes, smiling a little to help give ease to the man.

"That sounds wonderful, Abby," replied Tony, getting up from the couch and walking to the bathroom to clean himself up.

Abby sighed after Tony closed the door to her bathroom. "How are we supposed to survive when our dearest one is away? I know you know the answer to that question better than anyone else, Gibbs," Abby whispered to herself.

After a long, tiring day of work, Tony was somewhat happy to go see Sarah. Not that seeing Sarah wasn't a joy, it's just seeing her in a prison like setting was… depressing in Tony's eyes. After grabbing Abby, Tony drove them both to see Sarah at the Psychiatric Institute of Washington.

Once there, Tony walked up to the front desk to put in his information and gave away his gun so he could visit his ward. The room he walked into had carpeted floor, blue painted walls, the doors to all the rooms were open, and patients were scattered across the room, some talking to parents, some talking to other patients, or some by themselves, alone. Sarah was one of the patients by herself, playing with her bracelet, she looked positively bored. Seeing her like this made Tony and Abby's heart stop.

"Sarah!" Abby called to the girl with a smile on her face.

Sarah looked up from her hands at the sound of Abby's voice. A smile spread on the girls face, making her face glow. "Abby!" Sarah called back. She realized Tony was with the older woman and her smile widened. "Tony!" Sarah practically screamed and she jumped up from her spot. An orderly yelled at her to sit back down, but she ignored the order and ran over to Tony and gave him a big hug. "I missed you so much!" The girl started to cry tears of joy. Tony hugged her back just as much, then let go of her, and led the three of them to a table so they could talk.

About an hour later, the trio said their tear filled goodbyes. The orderlies had to hold Sarah back so she wouldn't run away with Tony and Abby. Abby waved to the girl, her sniffling making Tony feel slightly uncomfortable.

"We'll come see you tomorrow, Sarah. I'll bring McGeek with us, OK?" questioned Tony, smiling at Sarah, making her smile in return.

"That sounds good!" Sarah replied to her caretaker, waving back to Abby.

The next three days went by agonizingly slow for Tony, even when trying to solve Mrs. Goldings's murder; he couldn't find the excitement on making another case closed.

On the last day of Sarah's hospitalization, everyone on Gibbs's team was noticeably happier than they were before the incident happened.

"Tony, aren't you excited that Sarah gets out today?" shouted Abby to Tony across the squad room.

"I am, Abby Sciuto, and what are we going to do when we go pick her up?" Tony asked in his announcer voice.

"Have a party at my house!" Abby yelled, making everyone outside of the team look at the girl strangely.

"That sounds fun, may I join you in the festivities, Abby?" asked agent David walking up to the two excited people.

"Of course Ziva, McGee and Gibbs can come too if they would like," replied Abby, gesturing to the other two men in the room.

"I'll take you up on the offer, Abby," Gibbs expressed with a small smile on his face.

"I have nothing else to do, and besides, a party sounds really good to me," stated McGee, smiling at Abby.

"OK, Tony, go pick up Sarah while Gibbs, McGee, Ziva, Ducky, and I prepare the home coming. Sounds good to everyone?" inquired Abby in which she received a nod from the group. "Well, let's go then!"

Sarah couldn't describe what she felt when she stepped into the apartment, finding that it had been decorated just for her. Sarah never had a "welcome home" party after she came back from any hospital visit before, so it was a joy to see a change. That's when she knew that she had a family here in Washington D.C. She never wanted to be separated from them, no matter what. She will fight for them, and they will fight for her.

She started crying tears of joy, and whispered, "I'm home, finally home." All of them gathered in a big hug. Forgetting everything that had happened that week: the tears, the yells, the fights, the blood, and the death.

Their happiness only lasts the night and till noon. When Vance said that there was going to be visitors looking to donate to NCIS, the team didn't know what to expect from the people.

Tony was confused on why Sarah was hiding under his desk her arms holding her legs, and rocking back and forth. She was muttering, "They can't be here. They couldn't have found me. I don't know who would have told them... That's right, Chad! We shouldn't have trusted Uncle Joe... I know Angel that he's my uncle and such... Don't get prissy with me, Aang!... No! Tony would do no such thing! He loves us, remember?"

"Sarah, honey, what's wrong? I can help you and your friends out, if you guys want my help," Tony intervened in the conversation, seeing that a fight would erupt between the four, he thinks, people.

"They're here, Tony! In this building! They can't see me! I have to hide here!" the girl whisper shouted at Tony.

He just looked further confused on who she was talking about. "Who do you have to hide from?"

"Them! They're here! In this very building, my worst nightmare has come to life!" Sarah started crying at her saying this. "Shut up, Chad! That's not funny!"

"Sarah, if you want me to protect you, you're going to have to tell me who to protect you from," replied Tony, not taking notice of Sarah's yelling. Some people are starting to stare at Tony, since he was the only person they could see. They did hear Sarah's shout at a guy named Chad, that's when they started walking away at that point.

"They're the visitors today. Don't let them see me Tony! Promise me that, at least!" she grabbed ahold of his shirt, tears, sadness, and insanity in her eyes.

He took the girls hands, held them close to him, and replied, "Of course, Sarah. If it brings you comfort I'll do it for you." He kissed her hands and let her stay under his desk for the rest of the day. "How am I supposed to tell the difference between the visitors, and the people Sarah was so afraid of," Tony whispered to himself, going off to find Abby to help him in his quest.

Not to Tony's knowledge at the time, he didn't know he was being followed.

-Sorry the chapter is so short, and that it took me two days! I'm sorry! I hope you liked it!-


	6. I'm Back Home

Ch. 6

"Do any of you guys know what the visitors look like?" asked Tony to the other four in the room with a concerned look on his face.

"I have no clue," replied Ziva, scratching her head.

"I think there are four of them," McGee responded, looking to see if Gibbs had anything else to say. Gibbs shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Tony. I haven't heard anything besides what Tim said," answered Abby, giving Tony a hug to comfort his thoughts. Tony hugged the woman back, feeling better than before.

"Good day, everyone!" called out Ducky towards the team. He noticed the people looking glum. He frowned, but didn't want to ask, thinking that it was something to do with Sarah. "The visitors are with the Director right now, if you were wondering. Strange people, I think, but I shouldn't be judging them."

"What makes you say that, Ducky?" asked Gibbs, looking at the Doctor with a look in his eyes.

"Well, they didn't seem normal when I talked to them, like they were stressed, even the little one. It was like they had something pent up inside of them that they needed to get out."

"Tony, maybe you should check on Sarah. Just in case," suggested Ziva. "I don't want anything else to happen to her."

"OK, I'll be right back." Tony left and went upstairs to find the girl.

Tony looked under his desk for the girl, but she wasn't there. He was hoping she was in the snack room, which was Tony's next stop.

Sarah wasn't there either. He looked in the bathrooms. In the last one when he was about to give up, he heard sniffling. She was in the last stall, when he looked Sarah's wounds on her arms were bleeding. "Sarah, why are you bleeding?" Tony asked her, but she didn't answer him. She just kept sniffling. "Sarah, it's me, Tony. Sweet heart, can you hear me?"

Sarah looked up to him, but she didn't say anything for a while. When she finally spoke she said, "I'm sorry, Tony. I was so scared. I didn't know what to do, so I opened them. I'm so, so sorry, Tony. I really am. Please, believe me." A new batch of tears started flowing from her eyes, and she squeezed them shut. She didn't want to see Tony angry, sad, mad, or disappointed right now.

"Sarah, I believe you. I always want you to remember this," Tony paused for a second so Sarah could open her eyes and look at him, "Everybody here at NCIS wants to be there to comfort you. Every last one of us, I want you to remember that. You can come and tell us whatever you want, and we'll be supportive of you, no matter what you say. Do you get what I'm saying, Sarah?" Sarah nodded her head, and wiped the tears out her eyes.

"Yeah, I get what you're saying," she replied, smiling at the man. "I'm just gonna stay in here for a little while longer, OK?"

"That's fine Sarah, but if you want to talk with any of us, we'll be in Abby's lab. Do you know where that is from here?" asked Tony, looking directly in her eyes, wanting the truth.

"Yes, I do. Thanks for everything, Tony."

Tony left the girl in the can, but not before giving a kiss on the forehead. "The parenting might be tough, but it's a great experience, and it brings me happiness."

Once back in the lab, Tony found that Ducky was no longer there. Tony assumed that he went back to the autopsy room.

"Did you find Sarah, Tony?" asked McGee, unease glinting in the man's eyes.

"Yes, I did. She was scared, but I think she'll be fine now," responded Tony to the group. They all felt relief flowing through them. They all sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the company of each other.

All of a sudden they heard a scream. They all knew it was her. They ran out into the hallway, but didn't see her or any sign of her.

"Everybody, check all of the bathrooms, closets, and vacant rooms, Abby, check security videos from just at a few minutes ago, and Tony you're with me," Gibbs instructed, walking out with Tony hot on his trail.

"Sarah, I'm sorry for not being there to protect you again. I'm so sorry," Tony thought with a tear rolling down his cheek.

"Tony, come on! You'll check this side of the hallway, and I'll check this one, you got it?"

"Yes, Boss, clear as day."

Once the two got to the end of the hallway, on Tony's side, the last door that they checked was looked. Tony put his ear to the door and he heard muffled screams. "Shit!" Tony silently yelled. He broke down the door, and yelled, "NCIS!" He spotted five occupants in the room, one of them being a crying Sarah in the middle of the room, looking towards him with pain, fear, and gratitude in her eyes.

The other four were gathered in a circle around her. The oldest one was a woman around the age of fifty, the youngest being around ten years old, the oldest male was around mid-forties, and the youngest girl looked around thirteen. "You are all under arrest for violence on NCIS property, and I'm guessing you're Sarah's family?" They all shook their head, trying to lie to Tony, but Tony knew, in their eyes he could see that they were ling. Sarah vigorously nodded her head yes. She wanted them far away from her. SO far away that she wouldn't see them ever again. "You're going to have to take a DNA test, but if it comes to that, then you will be arrested for obstruction of justice, and abuse of your own child or sibling."

Then he saw the fear in their eyes, but something was hiding behind that fear; it was power. They knew that they won't be put in jail. Even if they were put in jail, they knew a way to get to Sarah from that place. They knew what made her scared, they knew what made her cry, and they knew what made her tic.

When all four of them have left with escorts, two each, Sarah had not yet gotten up. Tony walked over to the girl and held her in his arms. "I'm so sorry that I couldn't protect you, Sarah. I'm sorry that you were taken from right under my nose. I'm so sorry," whispered Tony under his breath.

The girl looked up at him, and gave him a small smile and said, "You did your best, Tony. Thank you for coming to rescue me."

Five and a half years later led to Tony adopting Sarah officially, many weddings, and Sarah getting a college degree in criminal justice. The team was all there. Ducky, who had retired at age seventy-three, Abby still worked at NCIS, but married McGee, who also still worked for NCIS, Gibbs was the new Director of NCIS, and Tony married Ziva and they both work at NCIS.

"Sarah, congratulations on getting a spot at NCIS!" shouted Abby, crushing the girl in a hug.

"Thank you, Abby, but can you let me go? I can't breathe!" cried out Sarah. She laughed as she was put down on the ground again. "I'm really happy to be here! It's going to be so much fun working with you all! It's going to be just like when I first met you all. Minus the blood, death, kidnapping, hospital visits, and worrying."

"Oh, we're still going to worry about you, Sarah. No matter how old you are," commented Ziva, giving the girl a look.

"Fine, mom, whatever you say." Sarah could visibly see Ziva boil with anger. The girl smirked because she knew how Ziva hated her calling her mom. Ziva says it makes her feel old.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Do NOT call me mom. Call me Ziva again, please?" Ziva pleaded with the girl, which seemed like a daily occasion for the two.

"Daddy, Mommy's being mean! Tell her not to say that!" Sarah cried running behind her adoptive father.

"Just listen to her for once, Sarah. It'll be easier for you if you do," Tony said, trying to convince the girl to try and stop her shenanigans.

"Tony, you're never any fun anymore," the girl accused the older man.

He sighed and replied to the girls accusation with, "That's because I'm your boss now, and I don't want any of my team mates to get hurt."

"Fine," replied the girl flopping back into her seat, which was Tony's old spot. "Ziva, what's for dinner tonight?"

"Abby's going to have a party at her house for your success at becoming an NCIS agent," responded her adoptive mother with a big smile on her face.

"Wow, wait a second. I did not agree to this! Why haven't I heard of this until now?" questioned McGee with a highly confused expression on his face.

"I don't know, Probie. It's your wife we're talking about," retorted Sarah while spinning in her chair.

"When did you pick up that nickname for me, Sarah?" asked an angered Tim, already knowing who was behind the doing of the deed. Tony just whistled away while sitting back in his chair, not caring that McGee knew that he started the nickname. "Tony?"

"Yes, Probie?" This angered Tim even more, but he didn't give in to the child antics that Tony egged on about.

Sarah looked out the windows, and she thought to herself, "I'm home again. Thank the good Lord in Heaven."

-THE END! Or is it not? I don't know, I'll post a poll and you all decide!-


End file.
